When Brigadier General P. T. Beauregard, Commander of the South Carolina Militia fired upon Ft. Sumter on January 9, 1861, this was the incident that began the end of slavery.  The first shots of the war were fired by cadets from the Citadel that prevented the steamer The Star of the West, a ship hired by the Union to transport troops and supplies to Ft. Sumter from completing their task.  As you know, the firing upon Ft. Sumter led to the Civil War that freed slaves in 1865.

I will make an attempt to explain why every African American and every White citizen across the United States should celebrate the 150th Anniversary of the Civil War or the War Between the States.

As a South Carolina State Senator my number one job is to pass legislation and work with the citizens of Senate District 42 and the State of South Carolina on their problems, issues and concerns; and recommend qualified citizens to serve on boards and commissions.  The present makeup of the South Carolina General Assembly is as follows:  There are 124 members of the House of Representatives of which, 49 are Democrat and 75 are Republican. The racial breakdown is 29 members are Black and 95 members are White.  The South Carolina Senate has 46 members of which, 9 members are Black and 37 members are White. 

For any member of the South Carolina General Assembly to be successful, he or she must have the ability to work with both Democrats and Republicans and their White and Black colleagues. This is also the case for any person elected to office in South Carolina or the United States of America.

I would like to be known as a great senator and a great elected official. This cannot be done unless I am willing to work with both Republicans and Democrats, particularly the Republicans because they hold the vast majority of elected positions in South Carolina at the present time.

During the Civil War that started in 1861, there were Black people fighting on both the Union and Confederate sides.  Thousands of Black slaves fought and died along with their slave masters.  But there were Black slave owners who were free men that also fought and died on the side of the Confederacy.  On the Union Army side thousands of Black soldiers also fought and died.  Those men who fought and died in the Civil War of 1860-1865, did so because they felt that they were doing the right thing.  In 2010, who are we and why do we think that we have the right to say they were wrong?  So, to all of those brave men black, white, slaves and free, we should make every effort to take part in this celebration over the next five years.

Almost one hundred percent of the Union Army was Republican and one hundred per of the Confederate Army was Democrat.  Isn’t it amazing how things change?

If you consider, more than two million men Union and Confederate, free and slaves fought, some loss their lives and others were severely and mortally wounded.   These Civil War participants most likely touch every family in the Continental United States.  In 2010, the descendants of these brave men would want their family members to receive due acknowledgment for their deeds.  Who among us would not want to show our love and respect for an integral part of our history?  I contend we cannot judge the merits of who was right or wrong, as civilized Americans we must respect the free will of all people.  More importantly, we must understand that we have to live together.

In our country today, all citizens should learn to live and work together and respect each others' heritage and cultural differences.  These are the things that make us who we are.  America is a melting pot and to make a proper blend there has to be an astronomical amount of giving and taking – in other words the utmost love and respect must be shown for each other.  Everybody has a right to their own opinion and their way of thinking.  To give and take, simply means that we cannot afford to do things that would deliberately hurt anyone.